


No Place I'd Rather Be

by ijustwantedyoutoneedme



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Multi, Sharickyl, also awkward tent sharing because it gets cold in Georgia apparently, no more than that i'm afraid, sharickyl is not my thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 09:04:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3243980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ijustwantedyoutoneedme/pseuds/ijustwantedyoutoneedme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They'd been camping at Hershel's farm for weeks now. They'd been here for weeks, and even though Georgia was supposed to be a hell fire around this time of year, the nights seemed to grow colder and colder, and tonight was no exception.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Place I'd Rather Be

**Author's Note:**

> This was a gift for my sweet friend [sweetpeagrimes](http://sweetpeagrimes.tumblr.com) over on tumblr, so go check her blog out, it's worth a look!  
> She asked for a platonic view on Sharickyl and I just could not resist the challenge, even though I don't really ship them.  
> Anyway, I hope y'all like it and don't hesitate to ask questions if you have any :)

They'd been camping at Hershel's farm for weeks now. They'd been here for weeks, and even though Georgia was supposed to be a hell fire around this time of year, the nights seemed to grow colder and colder, and tonight was no exception. It was the coldest night they'd had to go through in years, and it didn't help that they didn't have anything like a roof over their head to keep them just a little bit warmer. Shane didn't want to admit it, but he was particularily sensitive to the cold, and the low temperatures were starting to get to him.

So it was only natural for him to ask Rick if he wanted to share a tent that night, seeing as he wasn't sleeping in Lori's no more. Shane wasn't sure why Rick was growing so distant of her, but he suspected it was because she might be pregnant with another man's child – his child. He knew Rick had his pride, and that deep down, the former deputy was angry with him for sleeping with his wife, so he had half expected his friend to turn him down. To his surprise, Rick agreed, mumbling something about it being too damn cold to keep to himself.

Shane felt himself smile upon hearing the other man's answer, and together they gathered what little belongings Rick had and took them to Shane's tent, in case he'd need them later tonight. It was still early, the sun barely setting over the farm, and they still had a bit of time until they would have to turn in for the night, leaving time for Rick to have a talk with Hershel and hug his son goodnight, and for Shane to do one last perimeter check before it was time to head back to camp.

Shane thought it was going to be awkward for a while, and he was right. It wasn't that awkward for him, but Rick seemed like he'd never been this uneasy in his life. Shane wasn't stupid, he knew why his friend would feel so ill at ease sharing a tent with him, the only thing he was wondering was why Rick had agreed to this in the first place if he knew this was going to be hell for him. Shane was about to ask when the former deputy finally sighed and said :

“Well this is awkward.”

Before turning to look at Shane, a small smile slowly cracking his lips. His smile seemed to be contagious as the other man's lips turned upwards before he answered.

“Yeah, you just wait until it gets any colder and I'm cuddling ya,” Shane said, a quiet chuckle making his shoulders shake as he talked.

“Man, I just can't wait,” is all Rick said, still smiling softly at his friend.

If things were awkward before, they seemed totally fine now. Shane had always had a way to break any kind of tension between the two of them, mainly because he hated not being in phase with his best friend, but also because he was the kind of guy who'd always have something fun to say in order to break the ice, whatever the situation was. As he was looking at Rick, his mind wandered places it went more often than he'd like to admit, things Rick probably never thought of anymore, especially after what Shane had done in his absence.

He thought of the beginning of high school, of how uptight Rick used to be, and how Shane would always try and loosen him up a little so he'd finally get a girl. Shane thought of all the sleepovers when he'd tell his best friend about his latest hook up, and how Rick would look at him, all impressed by the things Shane could do that he could not.

Then he started thinking of that one sleepover when he had convinced Rick to drink some of his dad's booze, and how nice and easy it was for him to put his friend to bed and listen to him go on and on about how he'd like to be more like Shane, more out there, but he just couldn't because he didn't trust himself to do the things he did, because of his lack of skills in the bedroom.

Shane had laughed at that part, and Rick had gotten mad, but just until Shane had offered to show him a few things he'd learned along the way. Rick was unsure at first, but the other had assured him that it'd be fine, that it'd boost his confidence, and that it'd help him land a girl for sure, so Rick finally agreed. That's when Shane went in for a kiss, and damn it was it weird to kiss one's bestfriend but why the hell did it feel so good if it wasn't supposed to happen ?

“Hey, you with me ?” Rick asked, his voice taking him back to planet earth.

“Yeah, yeah, I'm with you man, always,” was all Shane could manage as he blinked away the last remnants of what kissing Rick had felt like back in the day.

Rick eyed him suspiciously for a second before nodding and moving closer to his best friend, close enough to clasp his arm with a cold, shivering hand, and whispering loud enough for Shane to hear :

“Anyway, I was saying I was a bit cold,” his trembling hand enough of a testimony for Shane to understand just how much of an understatement that was.

“Now that's not good, c'm'here,” Shane said as he physically dragged Rick's body closer to his, wrapping his arms around the other man and rubbing his hands along his back.

After this it was only silence for a long while, the only noises breaking it being the sound of the two of them breathing, and the rustling of clothes as they both rubbed each other's backs to bring back some warmth to their bodies. The silence wasn't awkward like before, it was the nice kind, the one you want when you're with someone and it's calm and it feels good.

The kind of silence you want before you lean in and you kiss that someone as gently as you can. Which is what Shane did, basically. Without actually realizing it, he had started kissing his best friend like it was fucking normal. Well, it kind of was, to him at least. It's something he'd wished he could do every day, but it wasn't the kind of thing best friends did, especially when one of them was married, and the wife could be pregnant with the other guy's kid.

It wasn't the kind of thing best friends did, but Rick wasn't exactly pulling away from him either. He was kind of kissing back, actually. Which was surprising, because Shane was sure he was holding a grudge for all the shit he had put him through ever since they reunited back in Atlanta. But here they were, making out like teenagers in a tent in the middle of Georgia because it was just too damn cold to sleep alone anymore.

Shane was so content with himself in that moment, he barely heard the rustle outside. He was about to slide a hand down to Rick's ass when the other man pulled away, looking for his gun through the covers. This was Shane's cue to do the same, and Rick was the first one out of the tent, looking for the source of the noise, only to find it was Daryl the second he started yelling about not being able to take a proper piss because of the damn chill messing up his aim.

“Damn, man, ya got us scared right there, thinking there was a walker lurking around or something,” Shane said, putting his gun down.

“Nah, ain't no walker lurking 'round here when 'm on watch,” was all Daryl had to say as he was tucking himself back into his pants before turning to the former deputees.

“It's Andrea's shift now, right ?” Rick asked.

“Yeah, girl's gonna be cold 'm telling ya, feels right like winter out there,” Daryl answered before marking a pause, darting his eyes from Rick to Shane, and from Shane to Rick. “Y'all shaking up in the same tent or something ?”

Rick and Shane shared a look before the latter replied, “Yeah. 'S too cold to sleep alone, ya should know if ya've been out there all this time.”

Daryl eyed them both for a while before focusing on Rick, “What about yer wife ?”

“Carol's with her and Carl,” Rick explained.

The conversation was cut short by a grunt from Daryl who started walking away as best he could, trembling like a leaf after he'd been exposed to the cold for so long. Rick threw a look Shane's way, his eyes pleading for him to consider inviting Daryl to sleep with them even if he was the one who had interrupted their make out session not ten minutes before.

Now Shane had to admit he wasn't that fond of the guy, feeling like he was slowly starting to replace him in Rick's life, and he was afraid he was starting to take quite the big place in Rick's heart as well, judging by the way the deputy acted around him, always looking for his approval, always asking people where he'd gone and all the little things he used to do with Lori back when he first had a crush on her. Shane didn't particularily like the guy, but hell, if that's what Rick wanted, he'd help him get it. He might not have been the only one to hold Rick's heart, but he wasn't gonna go around and break it if he could help it.

“Hey, Dixon, wait up,” Shane said, effectively slowing the hunter down.

It took ten more minutes to convince him to join them in their tent, and just about ten seconds for things to become awkward again. Shane wanted to laugh at the situation, it was so fucking ridiculous : three grown ass men laying down in a tent, half-cuddling to prevent the cold from biting at their skin, all the while squirming to avoid touching areas they didn't want to acknowledge were even there in the first place. Well, at least this was true in Daryl's case, because Shane was quite happy with how Rick's back was pressed to his front and how he could feel pretty much everything about the man ; curves, angles, and everything in between.

The one thing bugging him was the fact that it was the same for Rick, with Daryl's back pressed against his front, and damn it if Rick didn't look like he was enjoying himself. There was nothing sexual about it all, hell, they were way too damn cold to do any of that stuff, and Shane was pretty sure Daryl would never agree to do something like this, not with them at least... Hell, he had no idea, he didn't really know the guy that well, and with a background like the one he suspected Daryl had, he didn't think being gay was an option at all for him.

But Rick looked content. Happy. Happier than he'd seen him in a while. And everything kind of clicked into place for Shane, right at that moment when he saw what Rick looked like, comfortably nestled between the two of them. This was what Rick wanted, what he'd wanted for a while now. This was exactly where he wanted to be, and Shane would probably never – ever – admit it, but it was kind of the same for him. He felt more content than he'd ever felt since the world went to crap.

And it was the same for Daryl, even though he'd rather die than admit he had the hots for officer friendly, and maybe, just maybe, for his best friend, too.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @[richardsdaryl](http://richarsdaryl.tumblr.com)


End file.
